Haircut fade guide

ABSTRACT

A guide for encircling a head of a person to guide cutting of hair of the person includes an elastomeric band having an inside surface, an outside surface, a substantially straight top edge, and a bottom edge that includes at least one curved portion and a back template. In use, with the elastomeric band around the person&#39;s head and positioned for cutting of the person&#39;s hair, the person&#39;s hair may be cut utilizing the top edge or the bottom edge as a guide. In some embodiments, the top edge of the elastomeric band includes an outwardly-projecting upper rim that has a substantially flat top surface, and the bottom edge of the elastomeric band includes an outwardly-projecting lower rim. Preferably a set of the guides are included, each guide in the set having a unique curvature or diameter with respect to the other guides of the set.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application 63/299,946, filed on Jan. 21, 2022, and is incorporated herein by reference.

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT

Not Applicable.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to hair styling, and more particularly to an elastomeric guide for fading and cutting hair.

BACKGROUND

When cutting a person's hair to produce a taper, a fade, or a straight cut, it is helpful to have a guiding tool for ensuring symmetry and evenness. Prior art devices, such as that taught in U.S. Pat. No. 5,865,192 to Sealy on Feb. 2, 1999, call for a rigid band encircling the person's head and one or more tracts used to guide a trimmer. U.S. Pat. No. 1,569,452 to Bradley on Jan. 12, 1926 teaches a rigid device for encircling the person's head and clamping the device thereto with a spring-biased clamping mechanism. The device of US Patent Publication 2017/0027297 to Cover on Feb. 2, 2017 teaches a guide that is adhered to the person's head. All of these prior art solutions are cumbersome to use and are not securely attachable or reusable. The guides themselves are limited and only accommodate a minimal number of cutting styles.

Therefore, there is a need for a device that is easily selected and affixed to the person's head in a secure manner. Such a needed invention would provide for a plurality of different guides having different curvatures or neck line guides for accommodating a wide variety of desired hair styles and cutting techniques. Such a needed device or set of devices would be relatively inexpensive and intuitive to use. The present invention accomplishes these objectives.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present device is a guide for encircling a head of a person to guide cutting of hair of the person. An elastomeric band has an inside surface, an outside surface, a substantially straight top edge, and a bottom edge that includes at least one curved portion and a back template. Preferably the elastomeric band is made from a silicone rubber material, but could be made from other materials.

In use, with the elastomeric band around the person's head and positioned for cutting of the person's hair, the person's hair may be cut utilizing the top edge or the bottom edge as a guide. A guide with the desired curved portion or back template is selected and fitted around the person's head and aligned so that either the top edge or the bottom edge guides the cutting of the person's hair.

In some embodiments, the top edge of the elastomeric band includes an outwardly-projecting upper rim that has a substantially flat top surface. In the same or other embodiments without the upper rim, the bottom edge of the elastomeric band includes an outwardly-projecting lower rim. The upper rim and the lower rim strengthen the elastomeric band and provide a larger surface for guiding the cutting of the hair, either with scissors, an electric razor, or the like. The back template is used to guide cutting the hair around a neckline of the person. The curved portion may be configured for guiding the cutting of the hair around the person's ears, for example. The curved portion may be configured for guiding the cutting of the hair into a blend, a fade, a taper, or other styles as desired. The elastomeric band is repositioned frequently, such as after cutting one band of the hair, to expose an adjacent band of the hair that is cut next with the repositioned guide.

Preferably a set of the guides are included, each guide in the set having a unique curvature with respect to the other guides of the set. In this way the curvature desired by the person may be selected and used. In some embodiments each guide of the set has a unique color, and/or a unique diameter for fitting around heads of varying sizes.

The present invention is a device that is easily selected and affixed to the person's head in a secure manner. The guides of the present invention provide for a plurality of different curvatures and neck line guides or back templates for accommodating a wide variety of desired hair styles and cutting techniques. The present invention is relatively inexpensive and intuitive to use. Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following more detailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, which illustrate, by way of example, the principles of the invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a top perspective view of the invention, illustrating a guide as in use on the head of a person;

FIG. 2 is a bottom perspective view of the invention;

FIG. 3 is a front elevational view of the invention;

FIG. 4 is a rear elevational view of the invention;

FIG. 5 is a left-side elevational view of the invention;

FIG. 6 is a left-side elevational view of an alternate embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 7 is a left-side elevational view of a set of the guides having differing bottom curvatures;

FIG. 8 is a left-side elevational view of a set of the guides having differing colors; and

FIG. 9 is a top plan view of a set of the guides having differing diameters.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Illustrative embodiments of the invention are described below. The following explanation provides specific details for a thorough understanding of and enabling description for these embodiments. One skilled in the art will understand that the invention may be practiced without such details. In other instances, well-known structures and functions have not been shown or described in detail to avoid unnecessarily obscuring the description of the embodiments.

Unless the context clearly requires otherwise, throughout the description and the claims, the words “comprise,” “comprising,” and the like are to be construed in an inclusive sense as opposed to an exclusive or exhaustive sense; that is to say, in the sense of “including, but not limited to.” Words using the singular or plural number also include the plural or singular number respectively. Additionally, the words “herein,” “above,” “below” and words of similar import, when used in this application, shall refer to this application as a whole and not to any particular portions of this application. When the claims use the word “or” in reference to a list of two or more items, that word covers all of the following interpretations of the word: any of the items in the list, all of the items in the list and any combination of the items in the list. When the word “each” is used to refer to an element that was previously introduced as being at least one in number, the word “each” does not necessarily imply a plurality of the elements, but can also mean a singular element.

FIGS. 1-4 illustrate a guide 10 for encircling a head 25 of a person 20 to guide cutting of hair 26 of the person 20. An elastomeric band 30 has an inside surface 34, an outside surface 36, a substantially straight top edge 38, and a bottom edge 32 that includes at least one curved portion 40 and a back template 50. Preferably the elastomeric band 30 is made from a silicone rubber material, but could be made from other elastomeric materials.

In use, with the elastomeric band 30 around the person's head 20 and positioned for cutting of the person's hair 26, the person's hair 26 may be cut utilizing the top edge 38 or the bottom edge 32 as a guide. A guide 10 with the desired curved portion 40 or back template 50 is selected and fitted around the person's head 25 and aligned so that either the top edge 38 or the bottom edge 32 guides the cutting of the person's hair 26.

In some embodiments, the top edge 38 of the elastomeric band 30 includes an outwardly-projecting upper rim 60 that has a substantially flat top surface (FIGS. 1-5 ). In the same or other embodiments without the upper rim 60 (FIGS. 6-8 ), the bottom edge 32 of the elastomeric band 30 includes an outwardly-projecting lower rim 70. The upper rim 60 and the lower rim 70 strengthen the elastomeric band 30 and provide a larger surface for guiding the cutting of the hair 26, either with scissors, an electric razor, or the like. The back template 50 is used to guide cutting the hair 26 around a neckline 28 of the person 20. The curved portion 40 may be configured for guiding the cutting of the hair 26 around the person's ears 27, for example. The curved portion 40 may be configured for guiding the cutting of the hair 26 into a blend, a fade, a taper, or other styles as desired. The elastomeric band 30 is repositioned frequently, such as after cutting one band of the hair 26, to expose an adjacent band of the hair 26 that is cut next with the repositioned guide 10.

Preferably a set 11 (FIG. 7 ) of the guides 10 are included, each guide 10 in the set 11 having a unique curvature 80 with respect to the other guides 10 of the set 11. In this way the curvature 80 desired by the person 20 may be selected and used. In some embodiments each guide 10 of the set 11 has a unique color 90 (FIG. 8 ), and/or a unique diameter D_(x) (FIG. 9 ) for fitting around heads 25 of varying sizes.

The elastomeric band 30 may include a rigid or non-stretchable portion (not shown), two opposing ends of which are connected with an elastic strap (not shown) to provide a similar function.

While a particular form of the invention has been illustrated and described, it will be apparent that various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, it is not intended that the invention be limited, except as by the appended claims.

Particular terminology used when describing certain features or aspects of the invention should not be taken to imply that the terminology is being redefined herein to be restricted to any specific characteristics, features, or aspects of the invention with which that terminology is associated. In general, the terms used in the following claims should not be construed to limit the invention to the specific embodiments disclosed in the specification, unless the above Detailed Description section explicitly defines such terms. Accordingly, the actual scope of the invention encompasses not only the disclosed embodiments, but also all equivalent ways of practicing or implementing the invention.

The above detailed description of the embodiments of the invention is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise form disclosed above or to the particular field of usage mentioned in this disclosure. While specific embodiments of, and examples for, the invention are described above for illustrative purposes, various equivalent modifications are possible within the scope of the invention, as those skilled in the relevant art will recognize. Also, the teachings of the invention provided herein can be applied to other systems, not necessarily the system described above. The elements and acts of the various embodiments described above can be combined to provide further embodiments.

All of the above patents and applications and other references, including any that may be listed in accompanying filing papers, are incorporated herein by reference. Aspects of the invention can be modified, if necessary, to employ the systems, functions, and concepts of the various references described above to provide yet further embodiments of the invention.

Changes can be made to the invention in light of the above “Detailed Description.” While the above description details certain embodiments of the invention and describes the best mode contemplated, no matter how detailed the above appears in text, the invention can be practiced in many ways. Therefore, implementation details may vary considerably while still being encompassed by the invention disclosed herein. As noted above, particular terminology used when describing certain features or aspects of the invention should not be taken to imply that the terminology is being redefined herein to be restricted to any specific characteristics, features, or aspects of the invention with which that terminology is associated.

While certain aspects of the invention are presented below in certain claim forms, the inventor contemplates the various aspects of the invention in any number of claim forms. Accordingly, the inventor reserves the right to add additional claims after filing the application to pursue such additional claim forms for other aspects of the invention. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A guide for encircling a head of a person to guide cutting of hair of the person, the guide comprising: an elastomeric band having an inside surface, an outside surface, a substantially straight top edge, and a bottom edge including at least one curved portion and a back template; whereby with the elastomeric band around the person's head and positioned for cutting of the person's hair, the person's hair may be cut utilizing the top edge or the bottom edge as a guide.
 2. The guide of claim 1 wherein the top edge of the elastomeric band includes an outwardly-projecting upper rim having a substantially flat top surface.
 3. The guide of claim 1 wherein the bottom edge of the elastomeric band includes an outwardly-projecting lower rim.
 4. The guide of claim 2 wherein the bottom edge of the elastomeric band includes an outwardly-projecting lower rim.
 5. The guide of claim 4 wherein the elastomeric band is made with a silicone rubber material.
 6. A set of the guides of claim 5 wherein the bottom edges of each of the guides have a unique curvature with respect to the other guides of the set of guides.
 7. The set of the guides of claim 6 wherein each of the guides is made with a unique color of silicone rubber with respect to the other guides of the set of guides.
 8. A set of the guides of claim 5 wherein each of the guides has a unique diameter configured for fitting around heads of varying sizes.
 9. A plurality of the sets of the guides of claim 6 wherein each set of the guides has a unique diameter, with respect to the diameters of the other sets, configured for fitting around heads of varying sizes.
 10. A plurality of the sets of the guides of claim 6 wherein each set of the guides has a unique diameter, with respect to the diameters of the other sets, configured for fitting around heads of varying sizes, and wherein the guides of each set are made with a common color that is unique among the other sets of the guides.
 11. A plurality of the sets of the guides of claim 7 wherein each set of the guides has a unique diameter, with respect to the diameters of the other sets, configured for fitting around heads of varying sizes. 